A World of Empty Desire
by Charlie'sLostVampire
Summary: "There was no world for her if there was no Damon." A different approach at how things in Fell's Church may have gone down after Damon's passing. How does Elena deal with the loss of the single most important person in her life?
1. Prologue

_There was no world for Elena if there was no Damon._

Everywhere she looked, there were reminders, even if only miniscule that caused memories of him to surface. Just when things were getting back to normal, when she was nearly back to her regular, controlling self, something would pop up and send her spiraling back down into her longing, empty, endless depression.

_There was no world for her if there was no Damon._

Anything could set her off. From the sound of a crow outside her window at dawn, or the sight of a blooming rose. She would ache to have him near again, his lips on hers, his velvety voice purring in her ear, but it never came. All that came was the familiar pang of loneliness; loneliness that no one, not even Stefan, could subside.

_There was no world for her if there was no Damon._

There were nights, beautiful nights, where it would be like he had never gone. She would dream of him; dancing with him at balls where their clothes where all tinted a reddish shade from the never setting sun in the Dark Dimension; kissing him in the bleachers of the high school gym; sleeping close to him in her bed in Judith's house, feeling completely safe and protected under his watchful dark gaze.

But then she would wake up. Wake up to the same room from her dream, only the comforting warmth was gone. She would find herself alone in her bed, the room chilled with emptiness, and she would crumble. She'd curl up in her covers and weep, whispering and calling out his name, begging to whatever deity would listen that her Darling Damon would be returned to her.

But he never would.

_There was no world for her if there was no Damon._

Eventually, she reached a state where it wouldn't take anything at all to set her off. The agony of him not being there would hit her by surprise, and she would fall apart for days on end, locking herself in the nearest bedroom, be it her own at Aunt Judith's, or one at Mrs. Flower's boarding house. The pain was just too much to bear. She simply… couldn't do it.

_There was no world for her if there was no Damon._


	2. The Episodes

It was early, around five thirty a.m. when Stefan wandered into the boarding house, running a hand through his light brown hair. He had been gone for hours; he couldn't stand being in the boarding house at times like this. Times that were becoming far to frequent in his opinion;

Times when Elena had her "episodes". While everyone had done their best to assure each other that Elena would get better, that she would deal with Damon's death like the rest of them had, she only seemed to be getting worse. She would wake up acting perfectly normal, and they would assume she was fine. That is, until she asked why Damon wasn't home. That's when they knew it was about to begin. The horror that was Elena's denial thrown into overdrive.

One of them would be given the horrible task of telling Elena that Damon wasn't home, and was never coming home, because he was… dead. She would then glare at them and tell them not to joke about something so horrible, and when they tried to explain that they weren't joking, she would start to scream at them, calling them liars and horrible people, and demanding to know where Damon was, and why she, for reasons unknown, couldn't see him. One of the members of their group, typically either Meredith or Matt, would then tow her off to one of the bedrooms and lock the door, refusing to leave until she calmed down.

At the moment, Stefan noticed Matt sitting on the floor outside the spare bedroom door, half asleep, his blue eyes barely open at all.

"Matt?" he asked, prodding the boys knee with his toe. Matt jolted awake, his eyes snapping upward, calming when he realized it was only Stefan.

"You're back," he said, stretching and scratching the back of his neck.

Stefan nodded, glancing at the firmly shut white bedroom door. "Yeah… how is she?"

Matt sighed. "She isn't good, if that's what you're wondering. She locked herself in there after Meredith went to get her some water, and is refusing to come out. She's never been this bad before…"

Stefan gazed longingly at the door, wishing his leaf green eyes could somehow see through the wood to the girl whom his universe revolved around. The girl who had wanted nothing to do with him lately. "Is there nothing Mrs. Flowers can do or give her to help…?"

Matt shook his head. "She's tried everything from herbal teas to grieving spells; nothing is working anymore. Stefan, I think she might actually be-"

"Elena isn't crazy," Stefan snapped, not wanting to hear it said out loud. "She's just… having trouble dealing with Damon being gone, is all."

"Stefan, she isn't having trouble dealing; she isn't dealing at all. She's denying that he ever died in the first place. You weren't here last night; you have no idea what happened."

Stefan frowned, confused. "What happened? Something different?"

"Oh, something different happened alright; she started talking to Damon. Actually talking to him like he was in the room with her and Meredith. She's having serious problems, Stefan; problems that I'm fairly certain none of us can help her resolve."

Stefan shook his head. "There has to be someone who can help her…"

"Yes, there is," Matt said with a nod. "But unfortunately, that one person who could easily resolve all of our problems is dead. He's also the reason we're having problems. So, we're screwed."

Stefan flinched at the almost casual mention of his brother's death. He knew that Matt was right; Damon truly was the only person who would have been able to easily handle Elena in a situation like this. But to have it brought up like that in conversation?

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'll be up in my room if anyone needs me. Call me down if anything changes."

Matt nodded and leaned his head against the wall again as Stefan headed upstairs.

… . … . … . … . … . …

Music filled the air. Not the charming, quaint strings of music one would hear at a ball, but typical '90s music. "Quit Playing Games with My Heart" by the Backstreet Boys, to be exact.

Clad in a floor-length, shimmering off the shoulder light blue gown stood Elena Gilbert in the center of the Robert E. Lee High School gym. Her shining golden blonde hair was up in an elegant twist at the back of her head, and gazes were being tossed at her from all over the large, crowded room.

"You're positive I look okay?" Bonnie asked nervously, fiddling with her strawberry blonde curls, fixing her long black dress. Elena smiled and nodded as they made their way through the crowd.

"You look perfect, Bonnie," she assured her insecure friend, grinning at Meredith who stood on her other side in a midnight blue dress, her long black hair hanging straight and shiny down her back. Meredith nodded in agreement.

"You look great. We all do," she smiled, and Bonnie squealed and waved when she caught sight of Matt, grabbing his hand and dragging him back over to their group. Matt had very kindly offered to escort Bonnie to the prom, and Alaric was bound to arrive any moment and sweep Meredith off her feet. Elena found herself frowning with confusion, though; _where was Stefan? _

He was supposed to be with Matt when they got there, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Matt, do you know where…? Matt?"

Elena's frown deepened when she realized the blond boy had vanished, seeming to have taken Bonnie and Meredith with him. She was now entirely alone in a crowd filled with rowdy, half drunken teenagers.

Beginning to push her way through the crowd in search of her friends, Elena sighed heavily. "Matt! Bonnie? Meredith!" She grumbled with irritation under her breath, mumbling, "Where they hell are you…?"

"Matt! Mered-!"

"Do you mind, Gilbert? Some of us actually want to hear the music."

Elena whipped her head around and glared at Tyler Smallwood, brushing a loose piece of her hair out of her eyes. "Shut up, Tyler," she snapped, turning to walk away. She gasped when she felt a hand roughly clamp onto her wrist, whirling her around.

"What was that, Gilbert?" Tyler snarled, gazing down at her with rather wolfish eyes. Elena swallowed hard and attempted to pull away without tainting her pride.

"Nothing. Let me go!"

Tyler smirked, beckoning his friends over with his free hand. "You know, you're looking pretty delicious tonight, Elena. Why don't you come with us outside so we can… have a taste?"

"No," Elena said firmly, tugging on her arm. "Let me go…!"

"I believe the lady said to let her go."

All eyes snapped up at the soft voice that spoke behind Elena's back, and she turned her head, her lapis blue eyes locking with a pair of midnight black ones.

"And if I don't?" Tyler sneered.

"Then things are about to become very unpleasant for you," Damon said silkily, narrowing his dark eyes and reaching out his hand. "Come, Elena."

Elena moved to take Damon's hand, but Tyler yanked her back, wrapping his arms around her, restraining her arms and nuzzling his nose against her neck, hard. "Where do you think you're going, Gorgeous?"

Elena whimpered miserably as his grip tightened on her, making it difficult to breathe. The pain was short lived, though. Within seconds of being yanked roughly into Tyler's arms, she found the restraining limbs gone as Tyler was shoved roughly to the ground with a loud smash. Seconds later, she was pulled into a much gentler pair of arms; arms that cherished her. Damon's lips pressed to her forehead as he whispered softly, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Elena nodded, pressing her cheek against his chest, nuzzling into his black leather jacket. "Thank you, Damon…"

"No need to thank me, Princess," he said, grinning down at her. She smiled softly, but their happiness quickly diminished. Damon's black eyes suddenly bugged out of his head, quickly filling with a clear expression of agony.

"Damon?" Elena squeaked, gasping as he fell to his knees. She looked up into the cruel eyes of Tyler as he rammed the pronged stick he was holding deeper into Damon's back, sneering.

"Damn vampire…"

Elena whimpered as she watched the light fading rapidly from Damon's eyes as he doubled over, blood trailing down his jacket where he'd been stabbed.

Sobbing with horror, Elena fell to her knees beside him.

… . … . … . … . …

"Damon, no… no, Damon, no… no, no, no… Damon!"

Elena jolted awake in the semi lit room, her blonde hair damp with sweat, clinging to her forehead as she sat up, sobbing hysterically.

"Damon?" she sobbed, her blue eyes flitting around the room miserably, sobbing harder when she discovered she was, once again, alone. Burying her face in her knees, she shook with sobs, ignoring the pounding on the door, the worried voices of Matt, Bonnie and Meredith.

"Elena, open up!"

"Elena, please open the door; we just want to help!"

"Elena, let us in! Damon is gone, alright? He's gone, and he isn't coming back! Just let us in so we can help you deal with it!"

Elena felt her breath hitch furiously at Meredith's final words; Damon was _not _gone. She knew he wasn't. He was out there somewhere, trying to find his way back to her. Damon would never just leave her; he'd _never _do that. She was his princess, and he loved her, and she loved him…

Lying back down on the pillows, Elena looked out at the sunrise, entirely emotionless as the knocking persisted. She would not leave this room until Damon came to find her.

Only Damon Salvatore himself would ever be able to convince her to keep on living.


End file.
